


A Date-Heist

by Writers_clock



Series: Signed in Crimson: A Collection of Julethief One-Shots [2]
Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: F/F, First Dates, Flirting, Fluff, Shenanigans, i tried okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:33:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29009100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writers_clock/pseuds/Writers_clock
Summary: Carmen allows Zack and Ivy to take care of a caper while she goes on a date with Julia. However, she neglected to tell Julia that Zack and Ivy weren’t VILE.
Relationships: Julia "Jules" Argent/Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep
Series: Signed in Crimson: A Collection of Julethief One-Shots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2131176
Comments: 4
Kudos: 153





	A Date-Heist

**Author's Note:**

> The actual heist plot of this doesn’t make a lot of sense but we’re going to go with it anyway. Shoutout to the folks from the discord for helping me come up with this!

“Absolutely not,” Carmen said firmly.

“Aw c’mon boss!” Zack pleaded. “Don’t you trust us? All we gotta do is stop VILE from stealin’ a diamond!”

“That way you can take Julia on a date!” Ivy added. “We’re not gonna screw it up, we promise!” 

“That’s why you’re doing this?” Carmen asked, cocking a brow. It was… sweet of them, of course. They both nodded frantically, and Carmen sighed. A date with Julia  _ did  _ sound nice, and she would most certainly be at the ball. “Alright. You guys secure the diamond. It’s going to presented at seven, and VILE will definitely try to replace it before then. Make sure you get it first.”

“You got it, boss!” Zack and Ivy both gave her a thumbs up. “We won’t let you down!”

“Go pick her up! It’ll be great! Go get her, Carm!” Ivy cheered. Carmen sighed. They were idiots, but there were  _ her  _ idiots, and they cared.

She hoped their plan didn’t backfire.

  
  
  


Julia could not screw this up.

It was the first solo mission ACME had given her. It was simple, it was straightforward: prevent VILE from stealing a diamond from the grand opening of the art museum. Julia had spent an hour picking out a dress just for this occasion. Then again, this was New York. It’d take an hour to buy anything will all the stores.

_ Not  _ because she hoped Carmen would be there or anything.

What she didn’t expect as she opened her hotel door, was Carmen Sandiego standing outside of it. Julia blinked, but Carmen was still there. “Carmen?” She gaped.

“Hey Jules!” Carmen said brightly. “Heard you scored a ticket to the party, so I thought I’d pick you up. Saves more on gas, right?” She handed Julia a bouquet of red roses. “You look great, by the way.”

“Uh… thank you?” Julia stammered, her face heating up. “I’m… uhm… what?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll drive,” Carmen assured Julia, grabbing her hand and pulling her along. As Julia followed Carmen out of her apartment and into her car, she had one thought on her mind.

_ Is this a date? _

“So… I’m assuming you know about VILE’s plan?” Julia asked nervously. It had taken her until they got into the car to speak. “To steal the diamond that’s going to be showcased?”

“Don’t worry about the diamond. It’s being taken care of,” Carmen assured Julia. Julia furrowed her brow. If it was being taken care of, then all evidence pointed to this being a date. “I couldn’t miss an opportunity to spend some quality time with my favorite agent, could I?”

“I’m your favorite agent?” Julia hadn’t meant to say the words, but at least it was better than asking if they were on a date right now. Carmen glanced at her in the Rea view mirror, and Julia could’ve sworn she was smirking.

“Of course! Granted, you’re the only one who doesn’t try to arrest me on a daily basis,” Carmen chuckled. She pulled into the parking lot and opened the car door. “Now c’mon, you’re my date to the ball.”

_ Date? _

“I…” It was suddenly very hard for her to breathe. Finally, she settled for, “Thank you for the roses.” It wasn’t the proper response, but it was something to say. Carmen just smiled, helping her out of the car. She didn’t let go of Julia’s hand as they entered the ball.

“Of course, Jules,” Carmen said with a wink. She paused as she entered, as if studying the area. Julia did as well. The first half of the building was open, with people mingling and talking. The second half held a dining area, just before a stage with the curtain drawn.

Carmen shook herself. “Care for some hors d’oeuvres?” She gestured to the servers pacing the floor, carrying plates with tiny food stacked on top.

“I suppose… but shouldn’t we be looking for the VILE operative?” Julia studied the servers - perhaps one of them was the operative. Her eyes settled on the one holding the food that Carmen took. She seemed… clumsier, than the others. A shock of orange hair that was anything but meticulous, and she winked at another server. He had the same orange hair and freckles. Somehow, the two of them looked familiar, but Julia couldn’t place it.

“Here,” Carmen said, giving Julia a small sandwich. It was cut in the distinct shape of a heart. A sweet gesture, but…

“Wait!” Julia grabbed Carmen’s hand before she could eat the sandwich. Carmen gave her a questioning glance. Julia wanted to explain, but the server was still within earshot. “Uhm… they’re about to start a new song, do you want to dance?” She blurted.

“Oh! Sure,” Carmen agreed, smiling. She tossed the sandwich in a nearby trash can and offered her hands. Julia took them nervously. “Have you ever ballroom danced before?”

“Not really,” Julia admitted. “Perhaps this was a bad idea.” She looked away. The night had barely begun, and she was already a disaster.

“Hey,” Carmen said softly. Julia met her eyes hesitantly. “It’s okay, just follow my lead.” The song began, and soon Carmen was whisking her across the dance floor. “It’s all about footwork. Try and count in four-four time, and match your steps with every beat.” Julia stumbled, but Carmen didn’t let her fall. With Carmen’s guidance, she began to get the hang of it.

By the time she did, however, the song had ended. “Thank you,” Julia said softly. Under different circumstances, she would love to spend this time with Carmen. Unfortunately, she  _ was  _ technically on the job. She scanned the room once more, to find that the suspicious servers had disappeared. “Are you sure that the situation is handled?” she asked Carmen.

“It’ll be fine,” Carmen assured her, but her voice was tight. She grabbed two glasses of wine from a nearby server and gave one to Julia. “You do trust me, don’t you?”

“Of course,” Julia said quickly. “I’m just… concerned, is all.” She kept looking around the room for the two servers. Her eyes landed on the male, who was… giving a thumbs up?

Before she could mention this to Carmen, someone bumped into her. She stumbled forward, dropping her glass landing directly in Carmen’s arms.  _ Oh gosh, I really do need to stop making a fool of myself.  _ She looked up into Carmen’s eyes, to find that… her cheeks had tinged pink?

“Careful there,” Carmen murmured. She helped Julia to her feet, and then her easygoing grin returned. “You almost dropped your drink.” She held it up.

“Oh! Thank you.” Julia took it, their hands sliding over each other.  _ Get it together!  _ “How did you even manage to catch it?” She blinked, and Carmen suddenly held up her wallet. “I suppose being a pickpocket can help.” She held out her hand, and Carmen dropped the wallet back in it. “You’re quite a good thief for one who only steals from other thieves.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Carmen winked. She checked her watch. “They’re going to present the diamond soon. Want to take a seat?” 

Julia looked around. She couldn’t tell who might be eavesdropping, so the best possible option was to get Carmen into a quiet place. “Come with me,” she whispered, grabbing Carmen’s hand and pulling her away. She wound through people until they were in an abandoned hallway.

“So?” Carmen prompted.

“I think that the thieves are dressed as servers,” Julia explained in a hushed voice. “They were acting suspicious earlier, and I think they tried to poison your sandwich.”

Carmen stared at her for a couple moments. The slowest of smiles spread across her face. “Jules… that is… very observant of you, however-”

She was, unfortunately, cut off by yelling. Carmen and Julia both turned to see the two servers flying down the hallway on a cart, holding the priceless diamond in their hands. They were being chased by a mime.

It had not been the strangest thing that Julia had ever seen. Unfortunately.

“The thieves!” Julia yelled. She watched them fly by and kicked off her heels in order to chase after them. The mime, who ran alongside her, paused to a moment in conclusion. An instant later, he had disappeared.

Julia didn’t look back to see who grabbed him. Instead, she caught up with the two servers and pulled out her gas gun. Grabbing the cart, she yanked it backwards with all of her might.

The two stumbled to the ground, but both grinned as they saw her. “Jules!” the girl cheered. “You look great!”

“Yup, boss sure knows how to pick a date,” the boy added.

Julia furrowed her brow. “Do you guys… know me?” They nodded enthusiastically. Julia turned back to look for Carmen, and saw that she was jogging to catch up.

“Sorry about the wait. I had to take care of a mime problem.” Her eyes skimmed over them. “Zack, Ivy? Nice work.”

“They… aren’t thieves, are they,” Julia said slowly. Zack and Ivy blinked. “But they kept meddling, I thought…?”

“We just wanted to make sure your date with Carm went well, that’s all,” Zack shrugged. Ivy smacked him.

_ “You can’t just say that!”  _ She whispered rather loudly.

_ “Well why not? It is a date, isn’t it? I mean, we went through all this trouble-hey!”  _ He rubbed his shoulder as she smacked him again, and looked up at Carmen. “Oh. We’ll, ah, get the diamond to safety.” He pulled his sister to her feet and the two of them scurried off.

Julia glanced at Carmen nervously to see that their faces were equally red. “Sorry about them,” Carmen chuckled.

“Oh! Uh, it’s fine,” Julia said quickly. Her heart thrummed.  _ So is this a date? I mean, he said it was, but I don’t want to assume anything.  _

“Would you like to do this again?” Carmen asked after a moment. “An actual date, though, and not a… date-heist of sorts.” It occurred to Julia that perhaps, despite her confidence in everything… Carmen was nervous.

“I would really like that,” Julia agreed. She stood on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Carmen’s cheek. “Shall we return?”

Carmen smiled softly. “We shall.”


End file.
